An Introduction to 
Life Lease

With the population trend definitely heading for the senior side, the need for appropriate housing will be greater than ever. The choices are not great. There are also rental seniors apartments mostly in older buildings (no new rentals have been built in 20 years).  Then there are the high-end "adult lifestyle" condos. This middle ground is increasingly occupied by life lease developments sponsored by for-profit or non-profit community groups.   

Life lease housing is a wonderful and less costly way of producing seniors housing.  It is an increasingly popular way for seniors to create their own retirement community. Its future residents who, much in the same way that 

custom homes are financed, use their existing equity as bridge financing to fund the project. Unlike a condominium or simple renting, the equity from a present home or other source is used to pay a lump sum lease about equal to the cost of building the unit. The 49-year lease gives the resident the right to occupy their unit and use the common facilities.

If the resident decides to leave, or should become too ill to stay, the lease is sold to another person on the waiting list or to the general public. The resident or the estate receives back the market value of the lease less an amount for transfer costs.

A monthly fee, much like a condominium fee, is paid to cover maintenance, heat/air conditioning, and administration. Unlike a condominium, property taxes are paid by the corporation and included in the monthly fee.